March 2017
09Mar

Lack of pension equality for same-sex couples ‘is sexual discrimination’

Denying equal pension rights to a same-sex husband – as opposed to a wife – amounts to direct, sexual discrimination, the supreme court has been told in a test case which could affect thousands of couples. The claim at the UK’s highest court on Wednesday is being brought by John Walker, a former cavalry officer, who is determined to win pension rights for his husband. Walker, 65, wants to ensure that, should he die first, his 52-year-old husband will be adequately...

March 9, 2017
News
Read more...
09Mar

Sustainability vital for China’s pension funds

China is home to more than 220 million people over the age of 60 in China, or 16.1 percent of the population, and the numbers are growing. As the population ages, the country faces the challenge of building a more sustainable pension system. Since late 2016, China has invested an initial 360 billion yuan (about 52 billion US dollars) of pension insurance funds from seven provincial-level regions in financial markets. As the financial lifeline for China's elderly, the flow of that...

March 9, 2017
News
Read more...
09Mar

Older Americans may have to postpone retirement under Republican health bill

The House Republican bill to replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) would allow insurers to charge older workers health insurance premiums five times as much as younger ones and give states the option to set their own ratio, according to published reports. Under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, plans can charge their oldest customers only three times the prices charged to the youngest ones. Given that possible change, experts say pre-Medicare workers are likely to stay in their jobs longer...

March 9, 2017
News
Read more...
09Mar

UK. L&G Operating Profit Rises 7 Percent on Boost From Pension Unit

Legal & General Group, the UK’s largest manager of pension assets, posted a 7 percent increase in full-year operating profit after earnings jumped at its retirement division. Operating profit advanced to 1.56 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) from 1.46 billion pounds a year earlier, according to a statement Wednesday. That compares with the average 1.62 billion-pound estimate of 21 analysts surveyed by L&G. Operating profit at the retirement division rose 27 percent, while earnings at the investment management unit increased 3...

March 9, 2017
News
Read more...
08Mar

Regulator’s Lisa rules highlight pension risk warnings

The Financial Conduct Authority has published the regulatory framework for the Lifetime Isa, less than a month before the product is due to be launched. The FCA provisional rules, published in November, remained largely unchanged in the final guidelines, with just a handful of key modifications, most significantly to risk warnings. No change was made to the FCA's decision to allow the Lifetime Isa to be sold without advice. The final rules come almost a year after former chancellor George Osborne announced...

March 8, 2017
News
Read more...
08Mar

63% of Irish women don’t know how to start a pension

A new study from Standard Life has warned that Irish women are falling behind when it comes to preparing for their future and life after retirement. It's concluded that the average woman needs €30,600 per annum to live comfortably after they retire - but female workers are saving only €1,500 per year. That excludes the maximum state pension of almost €12,400. "The best case scenario for the average woman is a retirement income of €13,900 per annum which is not enough...

March 8, 2017
News
Read more...
08Mar

World’s Biggest Pension Fund Finds Friend in Trump

One of the world’s most conservative investors has found an unlikely new ally in one of its most flamboyant politicians: Donald Trump. The unconventional president-elect’s victory is helping Japan’s giant pension fund in two important ways. First, it’s sending stock markets surging, both at home and overseas, which is good news for the largely passive equity investor. Second, it’s spurred a tumble in the yen, which increases the value of the Japanese manager’s overseas investments. After the $1.2 trillion Government...

March 8, 2017
News
Read more...
07Mar

The State of State Teachers’ Pension Plans

As teachers across the country retire, their pensions are being subsidized by newly hired teachers to a surprising degree. Teachers’ pension plans have always rewarded long-serving veterans at the expense of short-termers. But now, as more and more plans develop shortfalls, states have been imposing cost-cutting measures, and recent research shows that the newest hires are bearing the brunt of the changes, raising questions of fairness. The Plans Received Low Marks The Urban Institute has graded America’s state-run pension systems on...

March 7, 2017
News
Read more...
07Mar

US: GM to Take on $3 Billion in Debt to Fund Pensions Moved to Peugeot

General Motors expects to raise about $3 billion in debt to fund pension obligations it plans to transfer to Peugeot as part of the sale of its European business, said finance chief Chuck Stevens. The US auto maker on Monday said it had agreed to sell its European operations, including its Adam Opel AG subsidiary, for about $1.4 billion, withdrawing from a region where it hasn’t made a profit in more than 15 years. The company has European pension liabilities of...

March 7, 2017
News
Read more...
07Mar

Long-Term Disability: Forgotten Risk to Retirement Income

Drains on retirement income abound. That’s natural in the course of daily life. But one of them — long-term disability — is largely unheralded, despite its being less than rare, argues a recent analysis. In “Addressing the Risk of Long-Term Disability on Retirement Income,” an article appearing in the Journal of Pension Planning & Compliance, David Kaleda, Emily See and Matt Schoen argue that long-term disability is a “hidden threat” to millions of workers’ retirement security. The root of the...

March 7, 2017
News
Read more...